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Untitled from Lorena Slager on Vimeo.
The GAAH Press Club would like to thank Mr. Gene Gilmore and Sam for their generous donation of pumpkins, and for answering our questions for this article.
Mr. Gene Gilmore and Sam /GAAH Press Club
Pumpkins! /GAAH Press Club
On October 14, a truckload of pumpkins were donated to Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities, and the GAAH Press Club was there to interview Mr. Gene Gilmore, the owner of the farm, and his helper, Sam. Before the pumpkins arrived, the Press Club decided on the questions they wanted to ask Mr. Gilmore, and practiced keeping their flipcams steady. After conducting the interview, the Press Club also wrote an introduction for the interview, and then edited it for mistakes. Later that week, some Press Club members even got a chance to decorate the pumpkins! Included in this article is their introduction and the interview, as well as the video that they shot themselves.
Do you remember the “Great Pumpkin” episode in Charlie Brown? Charlie Brown wanted to see the great pumpkin, even if he had to wait all day. Well, the Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Press Club went to interview Mr. Gene Gilmore, the owner of the farm where the “great pumpkin” lives and his most helpful worker, Mr. Sam. They have had the farm for 30 years now.
The students of the Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Press Club thought that some things were very cool. Avelycia, the student that created the video, remarked, “I like how many pumpkins they brought us.” Shirley, the person that interviewed the workers, thought, “Well, when I was going to interview them I was scared and nervous! When I got there I wasn’t nervous anymore though.” Trinity, who was helping Shirley ask the interview questions, explained, “I thought that a pumpkin had more than 50 seeds, so you can grow a lot more pumpkins with them. Did you know a pumpkin takes up to three months to grow perfectly?” Naudia, who was helping Avelycia make the video, added, “I was happy that there were a lot of pumpkins. I like making pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is good to my tummy and yummy.”
Press Club: How big are the pumpkins when they are babies?
Gene Gilmore: Oh, they’re just as big as a seed, about like your fingernail.
PC: How long does it take them to grow?
GG: About three months.
PC: How big is the biggest pumpkin?
GG: Well, the biggest one we had was about this big [holds arms in front of him], and weighed about 30 pounds. Other places have them THIS big [holds arms wider], but we didn’t grow any that big this year.
PC: Why are some pumpkins so little?
GG: Well, I think that they just didn’t get enough fertilizer and enough sunshine to grow big.
PC: How many people work on the farm?
GG: Three people. Sam right here is our biggest worker. Sam is the man who planted them.
PC: Where is the farm?
GG: It’s in Ada, Michigan which is about 15 miles east of here.
PC: How many seeds do you think are in the pumpkins?
GG: Oh, that’s a good question. [To Sam:] How many seeds do you think are in a pumpkin?
Sam: Half a pound.
GG: I would say probably more than fifty.
PC: How did you get your business?
GG: Well, I saved my money and bought a farm about thirty years ago. And we started raising cows, horses, and pumpkins, and other vegetables as well.
PC: Well thank you very much for answering our questions!
The song highlighted in the video is "Five Card Shuffle" by Kevin McLeod.
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